NSW journeyman Stephen Hoiles says the Waratahs have attitude on their side as they prepare to battle for a finals spot during the next eight weeks.
Hoiles, the former Brumbies captain who was a Waratah the last time NSW beat the Bulls in 2005 prior to Saturday's triumph in Sydney, believes the absence of "egos" in the side and their refusal to become complacent will stand the team in good stead in the back half of the regular season.
The fourth-placed Waratahs have managed to emerge from the first half of the season with five wins and three losses and have already survived the hazard-filled South African tour.
Hoiles spent three seasons with NSW almost a decade ago and five injury-plagued years with the Brumbies and has seen teams deal with the good, bad and the ugly as far as seasons go.
"I think we're in a good place, we're not patting ourselves on the back too hard knowing that we've done the work and have the right ingredients to go further, but we're only halfway there," he said.
"The good thing about this team is that there are no egos, they work hard. A lot of players say that but having been in a lot of sides you know when you turn up on Monday you have to be ready to run and tackle.
"It's a physical team, we train hard and we're very well-prepared for each game. I feel like we're in a good place and you just know that this side won't get complacent."
Hoiles is with the side on a match-by-match basis in a bid to resurrect his career after a persistent Achilles problem.
He was released from the Brumbies a year early when Jake White took over in 2011 and travelled to Sweden for a surgical procedure last year.
The 32-year-old has been an important resource for the Waratahs this season, filling a gap in the back row when Wycliff Palu needs to be managed and helping to right the side's line out issues.
He scored a try against the Rebels last month and has made contributions off the bench in the side's past three matches.
The Waratahs are not short on back rowers, with Palu, Dave Dennis, Michael Hooper, Pat McCutcheon and Jacques Potgieter all on contract.
But coach Michael Cheika wants to ensure he can find a place for the determined Hoiles.
"He has made such an impact this year that I have to try to work out a way to keep him," Cheika said.
Hoiles said he was happy to be playing again after a tough few years.
"It's great to be part of it and like any footballer with competitive instincts you just want more and more," he said.
"I'm happy to be involved and playing a role in the team. I feel like I've got a lot more to go and time now will hopefully be time put on the back end of my career.
"I feel great, my body feels really good and I'm excited to be back."
The Waratahs play the Blues in Auckland on Friday. The 11th-placed hosts boast considerable firepower out wide as well as an All Blacks-studded pack.
Hoiles said last week's loss to the Force and a number of aborted breaks against the Bulls had focused the Waratahs on cleaning up the handling errors and turnovers that have dampened their attack during the past three or four rounds.
"To finish you have to be able to re-align in attack, you have to have depth and you have to cover the whole field, which means spreading the defence a bit more," he said.
"That was a big thing coming out of the Force game, we're not going to sit there and say 'attacking rugby doesn't work'.
"We've worked really hard to get to this stage, so we're not hiding away from the fact that we want to run the ball, but we need to be a bit sharper in how we finish."
